Long beaches and tall peaks in Croatia

[IVY]

If you are keen to get active somewhere with a warm sunny climate, long beaches and tall peaks, Croatia has lots of offer.

Located between the well-known tourist areas of Split and Dubrovnik is the resort town of Gradac, which is a great base for exploring the natural beauty of the surrounding Makarska Riviera.

Cycling is one of the best ways of seeing the area, which is covered in pine forests and olive groves.

Holidaymakers do not have to worry about bringing their own bike as cycle hire is readily available, including from the local hotels.

There are signposted cycle routes, all of which are graded by how tough they are, and for great views over the islands you cannot beat heading up to the peaks of Biokovo, Croatia's tallest mountain.

Its highest peak is 1,762 metres above sea level, but there are other cycle routes that can take you around halfway up, such as St. Ilija's peak, at 773 m.

Other sights on the mountain include historical monuments and churches, such as St Barbara, which dates from the 1400s, and ruined 17th century forts.

One of the oldest churches is the 11th century St Ivan, located at Gornja Podaca.

As well as cycling, Biokovo is ideal for hiking and mountain climbing. Excursions led by guides are a good way of getting to see the main sights. Among the tour operators with trips to the mountain are Biokovo Active Holidays, which also run rafting, canoeing and cycle trips in the mountains.

If you need to relax after all the activity, Gradac is close to one of the longest beaches in the country - Gornja Vala, and with plenty of seafood and locally grown produce to refuel your energy, Gradac makes an ideal Croatian active holiday location.

Hidden Croatia has a five-night stay in the Marco Polo hotel in November on a bed and breakfast basis from £260, not including flights.

Other tour operators offering stays in the Makarska Riviera include Holiday Options, Bond Tours and Thomson.

[Freak U Full]

Festival of contemporary Croatian film `Closer Croatia` was opened yesterday at the Riverside Studios in London, informs Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integrations.

`Closer Croatia` festival will run until Sunday, October 14 and a total of 18 films will be shown (8 feature films, 7 animated films, 2 experimental films and a documentary). The festival was opened by Rajko Grlic`s `Karaula`in the crowded hall.

The second edition of the Closer Croatia festival was opened by Croatian Ambassador Josko Paro who pointed out the exceptional significance of film in cultural promotion of a country

Wit numerable representatives of the diplomatic and business world, as well as respectable cultural artists, the reception and the screening were attended by Croatian film directors Arsen A. Ostijic, Ognjen Svilicic and Dalibor Matanic.

After the screening, they answered questions if the interested London audience, while the organisers of the Filmhouse programme in Edinbourg have expressed interest to present a similar programme in January next year.
With sponsors and associations in Croatia and Great Britain, the festival was organised by Croatian Embassy in London, International Cultural Co-Operation Department of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Croatian Culture Ministry, City Department for Culture and Multimedia Research Centre of Zagreb University Students` Centre

[Freak U Full]

The portal should help people communicate online with the bodies of public administration, to make the accessibility to information easier.

The Croatian Government introduced its new internet portal under the name Mojauprava.hr the Government’s PR office communicated. The portal Mojauprava reports news in the use of information and services of the public administration in Croatia, and it is one of the programmes that have been carried out is within the e-Hrvatska (meaning e-Croatia) projects.

Created after the example of countries such as Great Britain, Singapore and Hong Kong, the portal should help the citizens communicate online with the bodies of public administration, in order to make the accessibility to information easier, the announcement reports.

[Freak U Full]

Oil prices eased back slightly today, but remain close to a record high that could see petrol costs climb further.

Yesterday oil prices shot past the $83-a-barrel (£41) mark, soaring on news of lower-than-expected US crude stocks.

The price of US sweet light crude traded as high as $83.76, close to the record high of $83.90 reached on September 20th. London Brent Crude also traded higher, but slipped back again today.

Oil prices jumped after a report released by the US energy information administration showed that American crude stocks fell by 1.7 million barrels last week, surprising analysts who had expected a gain of one million.

Meanwhile an International Energy Agency report concluded oil inventories held by the world's largest industrialised countries had slipped below a five-year average, putting further pressure on prices.

Oil prices have been edging up since the beginning of the year on fears that supply will not meet demand, with recent increases coming despite the Organisation for Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) pledging to make an additional 500,000 barrels of crude available on the market each day from November.

The start of the hurricane season on the other side of the Atlantic has also led to fears that bad weather could hit oil production in the Gulf of Mexico – a factor also responsible for pushing up the price of oil in recent weeks.

Analysts say crude is unlikely to advance significantly today due to the absence of fresh factors to support a sharp rise, but oil prices are expected to reach a high level again at the beginning of next week.

Commenting on today's likely fallback Paul Harris, head of natural resources risk management at the Bank of Ireland Global Markets, said: "This retracement will be largely technical and should not be misinterpreted as a change in direction."

News of rising oil prices will not be welcomed by British motorists, who could see prices at the pump rise as a result.

Many are already concerned about the impact of the 2p rise in fuel duty which came into force at the beginning of this month, despite petrol retailers having urged the government to delay the tax increase

[Freak U Full]

Balkan countries must pay as much attention to environmental protection as they do on economic development if they want to join the European Union, a United Nations report said on Wednesday.

Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Albania spent the 1990s in war or economic turmoil, and are rushing to catch up with ex-communist neighbours that are now EU members.

More concerned with privatisations and restructuring big communist-era companies, they now risk coming up short of EU standards on environmental protection, the U.N. Development Program (UNDP) report said.

"Investments in environmental projects are very low and mostly depend on international funding," said the report, released to coincide with the Environment for Europe conference in the Serbian capital Belgrade.

All countries in the region invest less than 1.0 percent of gross domestic product in environmental protection, with Croatia at the top end at some 0.7 percent and Albania coming in last with less than 0.1 percent.

They must raise that to 1.5-2.0 percent, it said.

"Strong economic growth and progressing integration of the region into the EU are set to bring stability, security and prosperity," the report said. "However the process will only be successful if it preserves and enhances the environmental and social capital rather than sacrificing it."

The report said many of the region's environmental problems date back to the war years, such as mines and other unexploded munitions that put large areas out of bounds.

Ethnic migration also depopulated rural areas and strained urban infrastructure, leading to poor waste management and unregulated construction.

Most socialist-era factories are still running and polluting entire cities. There is also no reliable pollution data and few inspections, while laws passed by countries are not implemented and corruption is rife.

Officials said the six Balkan countries taking part in the Oct. 10-12 conference were working on a joint environmental strategy, but an agreement was not certain.

"Regional cooperation is necessary in tackling issues such as landslides, or rivers," Ben Slay, a UNDP regional director, told Reuters. "Environmental issues cannot be solved by national governments alone."